The hidden costs of working with inexperienced teams

At 4i, we receive numerous requests to take over apps that are “almost there” or get involved midway because the project is taking significantly longer to complete than estimated.

In most cases, the trusted developer or development team underquoted or underestimated the amount of effort involved, leaving the client in the lurch.

Switching development teams midway costs more in the long run

The reality is that the time it takes to investigate the code and understand the framework to “quickly fix or finish” the app ends up costing almost the same as a rewrite. These clients mistakenly opted for what looked like a cheaper option, but ended up being a less experienced team, costing them the ultimate price of project failure.

Here’s a few tips and points for consideration to save you the pain of canning your project (and your investment), by choosing the right digital product partner from the start.

To code, or to build a successful product?

There’s a misconception in the marketplace that if you want to build software, all you need is someone who can code. While this is not entirely false, there’s so much more that’s required to ensure the product succeeds. An experienced, full service team conducts research, challenges the idea and simplifies the solution to make sure it has the best opportunity for success. This involves strategists, analysts, product owners, UX designers, UI designers, developers and quality assurance testers, all collaborating to make the product as simple and intuitive as possible and ensuring that it solves the core problem.

By employing the services of inexperienced developers it begs the question - what kind of decisions are going to be made concerning the user experience, the design, and the reporting?

An experienced team conducts research, challenges the idea and simplifies the solution to ensure success.

Missing the feedback loop

Experienced, full service teams are able to build in analytics and insights that provide feedback required to make informed decisions about the future roadmap of the product. This approach is lean and effective; it’s good for the product and the people using it, and it’s also good for your pocket.

Leveraging technology

When working with inexperienced teams, technology decisions are often based on what the developer is comfortable with, rather than having the product’s best interest in mind. The last thing one wants is the chosen technology stack to become outdated or even worse, unable to accommodate future features of the product. This often leads to a re-write down the line, which is both costly and wasteful.

Do it well or not at all

Building mobile applications requires a significant investment, regardless of the complexity. The app stores are cluttered with apps that aren’t being downloaded or used, and this is testament to countless hours that have been wasted on building products that either don’t serve a need, are over-scoped or the design and technology is simply not good enough.

Full service teams build in analytics and insights that drive the future roadmap of the product.

How experienced is your team?

An inexperienced team (yes, even some internal teams) often underestimate project complexity, which leads to delays, missing go-live deadlines and running out of budget before the project is complete, having disastrous results on the project.

So, the next time you need to choose a development partner for your project, before jumping in with the lowest quote, consider their experience, track record and the cost in the long run should things not work out as planned.

If you’re looking for a partner with years of experience and a solid track record backed by a full service team, pop us an email at hello@4imobile.co.za or check out our offering at www.4imobile.co.za.

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